MS MR

[FLORENCE AND THE HYPE MACHINE] Brooklynites of Dickensian monikers, world-chomping appetites and a proficiency for digitized tensions that extends well beyond their goth-speckled pop craft, vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and synth wrangler Max Hershenow first aroused tastemaker attentions with an anonymous (and painstakingly curated) Tumblr before splashing mainstream with the typically dazzling video for standout single “Hurricane.” If something less than consumed by musical inspiration—fully half of all-too-appropriately titled recent debut Secondhand Rapture was previously released on the Candy Bar Creep Show EP—they nonetheless display a flair for folding high torment within sugared beats and a yawning eagerness to engage that’s unmistakably human.